Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship is a continuously evolving field, bridging the realms of business, government, and nonprofit. We define social entrepreneurship as the application of traditional business principles to identify solutions to social or environmental problems.

Thus, social enterprise describes a for-profit business that exists to address social and environmental issues. Local examples include The Stroopie Co. and Ten Thousand Villages.

Featured Ventures

Ocoa

Ocoa is a clean, affordable hair care brand dedicated to empowering women to embrace their natural beauty by using more natural alternatives for all their hair care needs. Their mission is to encourage women and children to spend less time perfecting their hair and more time enjoying life fearlessly natural. Founded by sisters Cory Dahlia Varona-Corniel and Nicol Varona Cancelmo, both Penn State Berks alumni, Ocoa has grown rapidly since shipping their first two products in 2021. The brand runs their Helping Hermanas initiative in our hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. To date, they’ve donated over 300+ full-size products to their community, providing not just hair care but also a message of self-love and acceptance.

In 2024, Ocoa reached several milestones, including debuting on UrbanOutfitters.com, where they became a top-rated product in just the first week, and launching their first crowdfunding campaign on iFundWomen. Their achievements include winning the Inclusivity Champion Award at the 2024 Beauty Independent Awards and Best Curl Cream at the GQ Grooming Awards. They’ve also been featured on the TODAY Show, in the Chase for Business campaign, and on Inc.com for Small Business Saturday. Ocoa completed the Ulta Beauty Muse Accelerator, pitching to Ulta merchants and investors, and recently launched on Amazon. They also introduced a holiday collaboration with Hello Updo. Learn more: https://ocoabeauty.com/

SYZY

SYZY is committed to creating convenient alternatives to single-use plastics. This business researches, develops, tests, manufactures, and distributes sustainable, on-the-go essentials. They added the ultralight, Tetra bag, made of high quality ripstop nylon constructed to carry all daily essentials when needed and disappear into a micro-size pouch for your pocket, keychain or purse when not in use. This was added to their already successful, incredibly strong, paper straw line. Their dye-free, biodegradable paper straw is not only great for the environment, but a superior upgrade to the current paper straws on the market in terms of both aesthetic and function. The company was founded in 2018 by Shanna Henry and Petros Pappalas, both Reading, Pennsylvania natives. Bearing witness to the devastation and impact that plastic pollution is wreaking on the planet, they conceived the idea to create eco-friendly alternatives that are also enjoyable to use. Learn more at: https://syzyuniverse.com